Means for locking a rotatable dial



Jan. 3, 1961 c. F. TRlTELl'NE 2,966,812

MEANS FOR LOCKING A ROTATABLE DIAL Filed Dec. 1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 3, 1961 c. F. TRlTELlNE MEANS FOR LOCKING A ROTATABLE DIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 1, 1955 United States Patent MEANS FOR LOCKING A ROTATABLE DIAL Charles F. Triteline, Downers Grove, 11]., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 1, 1955, Ser. No. 550,394

6 Claims. (Cl. 74-816) This invention relates to assembling apparatus, and has for an object thereof the provision of apparatus for assembling ratchet hubs of step-by-step switches on shafts thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for sliding pairs of hubs to predetermined positions on knurled shafts.

An apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention may include a work-holder having a plurality of work-holding sockets for receiving hubs on shafls and movable from a loading position to a presser which pushes other hubs on the shafts and the shafts a predetermined distance through the hubs.

An apparatus forming a more specific embodiment of the invention may include a turntable having bores for receiving shafts and counterbores for receiving lower hubs on the shafts. A pressing head is actuated as the turntable positions a shaft thereunder and moves over the upper end of the shaft and receives an upper hub in a counterbore therein to push the upper hub down on the shaft and the shaft down through the lower hub. As the presser arrives at its lowermost position, it moves a spring-pressed latch out of a notch in the turntable, and the latch is urged out of alignment with the notch so that, as the presser is lifted, the latch does not reenter that notch.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of an apparatus forming a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus forming one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial section thereof taken along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are views of an article assembled by the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown an apparatus for assembling ratchet hubs and 11 of a step-by-step switch on a shaft 12 thereof, which includes a manually rotatable dial or turntable 15 having sockets 16 and bores 17 therein. The dial 15 has a flange member 48 formed integral therewith. Handles 18 are provided for turning the dial manually. The fixture is to press fit hubs 10 and 11 on a shaft 12 having knurls 13, 14 and 19. The knurl 14 is of such diameter and coarseness relative to these characteristics of the knurls 13 and 19 that the hub 11 will slide over the knurls 13 and 19- before the hub 10 will slide over the knurl 14. Each time one of the sockets carrying one of the hubs 10, which has one of the shafts 12 started therein and one of the hubs 11 started on the shaft, arrives at a position below a pressing sleeve 21, a switch plunger 22 enters a notch 23 to actuate a hydrau ic cylinder of a press of a well known type to move a piston 30 carrying the sleeve 21 downwardly. Also, a lazchifg arm or lever 24 mounted pivotally both horizontally and ice vertically on a pin 25 drops into a slot 26 formed in flanged member 48 and has a tapered mouth 27 to lock the dial. Then the sleeve 21 moves down over the hub 11 until the hub 11 strikes a shoulder 28 and presses the hub 11 on the shaft until the shaft strikes an adjustable stop 29 carried by the sleeve. Then the rod or shaft 12 is pressed downwardly into the hub 10 until a stop sleeve 33 engages the dial 15. The hydraulic pressure then builds up and automatically reverses the supply of oil to the cylinder 20 to lift the piston 30.

At the end of the downward movement of the sleeve 21, a rod 31 pivots the latching arm 24 out of the slot 26 and the lever is swung in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, by a spring 32 so that it does not reenter the slot 26. The arm 24 is mounted pivotally in a slot 34 of a bracket 35 having sloping sides 36 and straight sides 37. The sides 36 and the loose fit of the lever 24 on the pin 25 provide facilities to permit the lever 24 to be swung counterclockwise from its position shown in Fig. 1, as limited by an adjustment screw 38, and the sides 37 prevent clockwise movement of the lever 24. Also, when the dial is in a proper pressing position, one of the slots 26 is directly over a slot 39 in a fixed base 40 and the lever 24 drops partially into the slot 39 to positively lock the dial in its oriented position. The spring 32 urges the lever 24 counterclockwise horizontally, as viewed in Fig. l, and also clockwise vertically, as viewed in Fig. 3. Hence, when the rod 31 pushes the lever 24 out of the slots 26 and 39, the lever 24 swings horizontally away from the slot 26 and does not reenter that slot 26 when the rod 31 is lifted away from the lever. Then, as the dial is turned manually and the next slot 26 reaches the lever 24, the spring 32 pushes the lever 24 into the slot 26, and, on continued movement of the dial, the lever 24 is turned clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1, and drops into the slot 39 to lock the dial in place.

In the pressing movement of the sleeve 21 and the stop 29, the hub 11 is engaged first and is moved onto the shaft 12 until the shaft is engaged by the stop 29 before the shaft is moved substanitally farther into the hub 10. This is due to rapid pressing movement of the sleeve 21 and inertia of the shaft 12 and the fact that the knurls 13 and 19 resist movement of the hub 11 less than the knurl 14 resists movement of the hub 10. Yokes 45 are mounted by pins 46 pivotally on the dial 15 to maintain the shafts 12 vertical when they arrive at the pressing station. As each hub 11 is pushed down on its shaft 12, the hub 11 pushes the yoke 45 out of the way against the action of a torsion spring 47.

The above-described apparatus rapidly presses the hubs 10 and 11 to precise positions on the shafts 12 and may be loaded and unloaded during the pressing operation. Also, the dial automatically is stopped in a precisely oriented position when it is moved after each pressing operation.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is: I

1. In an apparatus including a press having a reciprocable head, a basehaving a peripheral slot, a dial ro-. tatable in a predetermined direction on the base for moving articles into the press and having a peripheral slot therein registerable with the slot in the base, a lever, means mounting the lever adjacent to the path of movement of the slot with the dial to permit the lever to enter the slot at a predetermined position of the dial, means urging the lever into the slot in the dial in the predeter' mined position thereof and also urging said lever in a direction in opposition to said direction of movement of the dial, said mounting means being arranged to permit limited movement of the lever with the dial to a position in which the lever drops partly into the slot in the base to lock the dial to the base, and means secured to the reciprocable head for withdrawing the lever from the slots when the head is moved toward the dial.

2. In an apparatus for advancing work pieces, a base having a peripheral slot therein, a turntable rotatably mounted on the base for movement in one direction, said turntable having a radial peripheral slot passing therethrough adapted to be positioned in registry with the slot in the base, a latch, means for mounting the latch adjacent to the slot in the base for vertical and horizontal movement, means for urging the latch vertically toward the turntable and horizontally away from the slot in the base in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the turntable, means for rotating the turntable to 'rnove the slot therein into position where the urging means moves the latch vertically into the slot in the turntable further movement of the turntable causing movement of the latch into position to move vertically into the slot in the base to lock the turntable to the base, and means for intermittently Withdrawing the latch from the slots.

3. A turntable device, comprising a circular base, a turntable rotatably mounted on said base, said base being of'approximately the same diameter as the turntable, said turntable having a radial slot extending therethrough at the periphery thereof, said base having a radial slot extending from the periphery thereof, a latch of such size as to enter within both said slots to lock said turntable to said base, means for mounting said latch adjacent to the slot in the base for pivotal movement in both horizontal and vertical planes, means for urging said latch vertically into engagement with the upper peripheral surface of the turntable, said urging means also urging said latch horizontally from entry into the slot formed in the base, means for rotating the turntable to move the slot therein into register with the latch whereupon said urging means moves said latch vertically within said slot and further movement of the turntable moves the latch against the horizontal component of the urging means into register with the slot formed in the base whereby said vertical component of the urging means moves the latch into said slot in the base, and means for intermittently withdrawing said latch from the slots, whereby said urging means will position said latch in engagement with the upper surface of said turntable.

4. In an assembling apparatus including a press having a reciprocable head mounted on a base, a raised portion on said base having a peripheral slot therein, a dial rotatably mounted on said raised portion and having sockets for receiving and moving parts in a predetermined direction under the head, said dial having a slot in the periphery thereof alignable with the slot in the raised portion, means for rotating the dial in said predetermined direction to move said slots into alignment, a lever, means for mounting said lever on the base adjacent to the slot in said raised portion for vertical and horizontal movement, said mounting means having spaced surfaces for restricting the horizontal movement of the lever, means urging one end of the lever both against the dial and in a direction opposite to said predetermined direction such that the lever enters the slot in the dial as the dial is rotated and enters the 'slot in the raised portion when the slots are'aligned to lock said dial to said base, and

means carried by the head for engaging and moving the lever out of the slots as the head is moved downwardly whereby said urging means moves the lever in a direction opposite to said predetermined direction and against the restricting surface of the mounting means.

5. A turntable device comprising a base, a circular raised portion on said base having a slot in the periphery thereof, a turntable mounted for rotation in a predetermined direction on said raised portion and having a peripheral slot therein alignable with the slot in the raised portion, a latch of such size as to slide into both of said slots simultaneously to lock the same together, means for mounting said latch to the base in a position substantially radial to the raised portion and adjacent to the slot in the raised portion for movement in both vertical and horizontal planes, said mounting means having a first surface for preventing horizontal movement ofthe latch in said predetermined direction past the slot in the raised portion and a second surface for allowing limited movement of the latch in a direction opposite to said predetermined direction, a resilient means for imparting a vertically directed force to urge the latch into engagement with the upper surface of the turntable and a horizontally directed force to urge the latch away from the slot in the raised portion in a direction opposite to said predetermined direction, means for rotating the turntable to move the slot therein into register with the latch whereupon the vertically directed force of the resilient means moves the latch within said slot and further movement of the turntable moves the latch against the horizontally directed force of the resilient means into registry with the slot in the raised portion whereby said vertical force further moves the latch into the slot in said raised portion, and means for intermittently withdrawing the latch from the slots, whereby said urging means will position said latch in engagement with the upper surface of said turntable. I

6. In an apparatus including a press having a reciprocable head, a rotatable dial for moving articles in a predetermined direction into the press and having a radial slot therein extending completely through the thickness of the dial, a lever, means mounting the lever adjacent the dial in a position to enter the slot at a predetermined position of the dial, said mounting means including facilities for mounting the lever for limited movement with the dial, a locking means stationary with respect to the dial and spaced from the lever when it initially enters the slot in the direction of movement of the dial for receiving said lever after said limited movement cojointly with the slot to lock said lever and dial against further movement, means for urging said lever to enter said slot and subsequently cojointly said locking means and also for urging said lever against movement by said dial, and means secured to the reciprocable head for withdrawing the lever from the slot when the head is moved toward the dial whereby the lever is moved by the urging means in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction of movement of the dial.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 738,653 Brainard Sept. 8, 1 903 1,135,329 Shearer Apr. 13; 1915 1,783,618 Hoyt Dec. 2 1930 1,795,141 Phelps Mar. 3, 1931 1,884,198 Phelps Oct. 25, 1 932 1,964,434 Holmes et al. n June 26, 1934 2,390,170 Poole Dec. 4, 1945 

